0000000000671128
AUTHOR
D Carone
Pollution exposure and high DNA fragmentation index in human sperms: a case-control study
Study question: Could pollution exposure play a key role on sperm quality, in terms of DNA fragmentation index (DFI)? Summary answer: Patients exposed to high level of pollution show an higher percentage of sperm DNA fragmentation index in contrast with patient from control group. What is known already: Taranto area is characterized by a number of steel factories and petrochemical industries. Data about the detrimental effects of environmental pollution are alarming. Pollution coming from the industrial plants causes health and fertility risks, mainly due to the exposure to several pollutant (PM10, heavy metals, etc). Toxic substances can affect DNA directly or indirectly, through oxidative…
HUMAN SPERM CELL AS EARLY BIOINDICATOR OF MALE HEALTH AND REPRODUCTION
Environmental factors could have a key role in the remarkable and continuous decline of sperm quality observed in the last fifty years. This study addressed the gap of knowledge on the effect of air pollutants on sperm DNA fragmentation, comparing the seminal parameters from men living in locations with different levels of air pollution. The detrimental effects of environmental pollution in the Taranto area are alarming: the high level of pollutants released from the steel plants in the atmosphere can cause health and fertility issues. Our study analyzed sperm samples from three groups of patients: i) workers of Taranto steel plants; ii) Taranto residents; iii) Palermo residents, assumed as…